I'll Make Dinner For You, Too
by Amme Moto
Summary: The letter said she only has one day to fix on her farm what should take three. Her sister will come and won't be very happy if not. Good thing Rick's around, huh?


**It took me a while, but I finally got the inspiration to write this!! YAY!!**

**Warning to those who don't get this pairing at all: It's a RickXPlayer pairing. I love those two. He's so shy and cute and smart. She's hardworking. They both fit! Lol.**

**I'll Make Dinner For You, Too**

Tira stood with the letter in her fingers, carefully holding the delicate parchment in her red-gloved hands. She smiled as she read the quickly-written words on the paper.

"**Dear Tira,**

**How are things going in Mineral Town? Everything here in Forget-Me-Not Valley is wonderful! You remember Rock? The hippie with the totally 'rad' clothes? Well, last night he came to my farm! He kept calling Basil 'Crusher' and then he hinted that I should make dinner for him. Of course, I was already making dinner and I didn't mind at all that he tried to pick me up. He said he's going to take me to the beach to watch the stars.**

**So what about you? You've talked about that Rick boy a few times. Isn't he the chicken boy? Have you two gone out yet? You should. You need to get out more. I worry about you, sis.**

**I thought maybe I could come over tomorrow for a visit. It wouldn't be long, just a little bit. You've always had a hard time with the farm-life, so I'd just like to check up on my little sister. Hee-hee. I'll be there at 8:00 A.M. And I'll bring Rock with me!**

**Love,**

**Rita"**

Tira gasped, dropping the note. Her sister was coming tomorrow! And she was going to critique on the farm…. again! Just great.

"What time is it, anyway?" Tira asked herself. She checked her watch. It was only 2:26. If she went outside and went to work she could finish up the work that was desperately needed. The fence was broken in three different places, the chicken coop was about to collapse, and the cows somehow figured out to pull up the grass so none would grow and Tira would have to buy more.

"I'll need to get to work." Tira growled. Why did her sister have to come in the middle of Summer? It was hot as Hades outside and now Tira was stuck fixing things to make herself look good to her sister. Tira pulled her brown hair into a high ponytail, securing it down with a band. She opened up the chest next to her bed and took out an axe, a hammer, and other necessities.

With a determined grunt, Tira set out to her farm.

-----

The time was now 7:48. Tira had just fixed all three spots in her fence when the cows got loose and she was forced to herd them all back into their section of the field. She was now beyond tired and her face was a pungent blue. She coughed into her glove.

"I'm fine." She told herself. "I just have a little bit more to go." She leaned on her axe, panting.

"Are you alright?"

Tira was too tired to jump; she picked her head up and stared at the confused blonde staring at her.

"Tira, you're blue." Rick said, stepping closer. "And it's about time for the bell to ring."

The bell! That's when those horrible dogs came out and tried to attack her poultry and cattle. Her chicken coop wasn't fixed yet.

"Not tonight," She whispered, falling to her knees, exhausted. "I'm not done."

"Tira!" Rick pulled her up, propping her arm up on his shoulder. "You're done for tonight, okay?" He began walking her toward her house.

"No," Tira began to pull back. "I have to fix the farm." She tried to pull Rick in the direction of the chicken coop.

"Do you have to do it tonight?" Rick asked. Tira nodded harshly, almost unbalancing the both of them. The boy groaned, gripping his hand around Tira's waist. "You're going to get yourself sick. Just go lay down." Rick opened her house door and dragged Tira inside. He laid her down on her rather large bed.

"My sister's coming over tomorrow…." Tira explained, coughing. "I…I had to fix the farm before then. I… have to show her I can take care of myself."

"Just go to sleep, alright? I'll make sure your animals are safe." Rick patted her arm. Tira passed out.

-----

Rick stared in wonder. He had barely set Tira down onto the bed and she was _already _out. She must have worked hard enough to wipe out four men! Which did actually explain why her face was so blue.

Rick stretched, scratching his head. He didn't know what all Tira had been trying to get done. He rested a hand on top of the table and accidentally set his fingers on a letter. He picked it up and read it.

_Chicken boy? _He thought, sniffing indignantly at the choice words. _I am __**not **__a chicken boy!_

Then Rick read who it was from.

It was from Tira's sister, Rita. Rick hadn't known Tira had a sister. The letter said that her sister was coming over the next day at eight in the morning. And she would be bringing her "boy that's a friend" so Tira could meet him.

At the bottom of the letter, Tira had written a list of things to do. Most had been scratched out, but one or two things still remained.

-----

The birds were chirping. The air was warm. Tira could smell eggs cooking. She stretched.

Then she realized that no one should be in her house cooking eggs.

With a start, she bolted upright. Her head swerved to the right to find someone in her kitchen.

"Good morning!" Called the man. "I didn't know what you liked, so I sort of made what I knew. I hope that's okay." Without much difficulty, Rick picked up the bowl of eggs and gave it to Tira. "Eat. Please." He set it down on her lap.

Tira smelled the wonderful tang of eggs waft to her nose and she remembered how ravenous she was. She dug into the eggs.

"They're delicious!" She said, shocked. Rick turned red, flattered.

"Oh, well, thanks." He scratched the back of his head.

"Did you stay the night here?" Tira asked, looking around. The table in the middle of her room was strewn with possessions not belonging to her. She frowned.

Rick reddened more, looking at the sheets of the bed as Tira ate.

"Well, you were about to pass out, and you really wanted all that stuff done, so I told Mother that I would be spending some time at your place." He chuckled nervously. "She gave me a sly smirk and told me to be careful."

"So you spent the night here?"

"I tended to you, first. Then I went and fixed what you wanted fixed."

Tira gaped. Her chicken coop was fixed! Without thinking, she wrapped her arms around Rick.

"Thank you _so_ much!" She squealed.

"Well, by the time I finished it was too late to start traveling. So I sort of went to sleep here." He said sheepishly. "I'm sorry."

"No, no, it's perfectly fine." Tira admitted. "I'm just happy that my chickens are okay." She pulled back. "What time is it?"

Rick shrugged, glancing at the clock.

"It's seven." He answered. "I was going to wake you at seven thirty if you weren't already up."

"Ack!" Tira slapped her forehead. "I have _one hour _to make something for my sister!" She leapt to her feet and bolted to the kitchen. Rick followed closely.

Tira opened one of the many drawers and pulled out a binder. She slammed it onto the table and began spilling pages out onto the counter.

"What's easy to cook?" She asked Rick, knowing he would have followed her into the room. "Something that I've cooked before, obviously. These are all the things I've made before."

Rick quickly made his way over to the cookbook, leaning over Tira's shoulder to inspect the recipes.

"Well," He drummed his knuckles on the counter, fervently ignoring the blush that crept up on Tira's neck and into her cheeks. "You make the apple soufflé, and I'll make the eggs on rice. We can get it done and clean up within an hour."

Tira turned her head, making both of their nerves jump. Rick hadn't realized he was standing so close to her; when she turned they were practically nose to nose. A few inches further and they'd be—

_Don't think about that._ Rick ordered himself.

"Oh, I couldn't ask you to do that. Don't you have to go take care of your chickens?" Tira asked in a whisper. Rick shook his head.

"No," He answered, using the same tone. "Poppy said she would do it for me. Sometimes it pays off to have a sister, huh?"

Tira laughed quietly, softly; half wishing that Popuri could've been there to hear her dreaded nickname, and half wishing that she wouldn't come so the moment wouldn't end.

"All, right, then," Tira quickly turned back to the cookbook, opening up the rings and pulling out the two necessary recipes. She handed the entrée to Rick and walked to the refrigerator. "I'll get what we need."

-----

An hour later sat Rick and Tira at the table, simply breathing in the smell of eggs and apples mixing sweetly in the air. Tira had her hands in her hair, gripping the tendrils to keep her head in the air. Rick leaned against the back of the chair, trying to pop his back from the hour of standing.

"Thanks," Tira said after a long silence. "I never would have gotten it all done without you."

"Anytime, Tira," Rick answered, placing a crooked index finger underneath her chin. He pulled gently, willing her eyes to meet his. She complied easily, her russet eyes linking with cerulean. "You know you can always ask me for anything. _Always._"

And there they sat.

There was no need for conversation. They both knew that. What they were conveying to each other was being said without words, though they both understood that the words would need to be said at some point. They simply contented themselves with staring heedlessly, searching to their hearts' content for the answers to all of their questions.

Then came the point when staring wouldn't answer all the questions, and Rick quickly found himself leaning forward without giving his body permission to do so.

Tira met his lips with her own cautiously, as if she didn't know what she was doing. It gave Rick a little bit of confidence and he pressed a little harder, reveling in the satisfied and awed squeaks emitting from Tira.

Rick could have happily sat there for hours in that position, he knew. It seemed sort of disappointing when a large knock at the door awoke the dog and sent her into large barking fits.

Tira jerked away only because she was startled. She grinned sheepishly at Rick, probably going over what just happened in her head. She bit her lower lip nervously, forcing Rick to note how adorable she looked when she pleasantly embarrassed.

The dog pounded on the door with both of its feet incessantly, barking as loudly as possible. Tira looked over to it, sighing. She laid her hand on Rick's cheek momentarily, to assure him that he wasn't being ignored, and stood.

"Sage, get away from the door." She growled, grabbing her dog by the collar and dragging her away. "Come in, Rita!"

The door burst open wide. Rick was positive he was staring at Tira's clone. The differences were tabulated in Rick's mind rapidly, however, and he instantly changed his mind. The two were completely different.

For one, Rita's hair was red. That was one of the only noticeable differences at first glance. Then Rick studied how she stood with her arms crossed, her back straight and her olive eyes surveying the room confidently. Tira was much more subtle, he told himself. Tira would have had her hands behind her back, looking around with her shoulders slumped together slightly in mock-meekness until an appropriate reaction came out of the host.

Apparently Tira noticed, too.

"Always brazen as ever, I see," She grinned widely, more wide than Rick had ever seen it. Tira opened her arms wide and enveloped her sister in a hug.

"Good to see you too, Tira!" Rita returned the hug eagerly, pushing into the house. Rick saw a blonde man follow her, a cocky smirk on his face. He pulled on his strange clothes—obviously hippie—and ran a hand through his short hair. Rick assumed that this was Rock.

His suspicions were confirmed when Rita turned to him. "Rock, this is my sister Tira. Tira, this is Rock." Tira shook hands with the man briefly before Rita turned to Rick. "And who is this?"

"This is Rick," Tira introduced. "He helped me preparing for you two to come."

"The chicken boy!" Rita cried, tackling him for a bear-hug. "Have you gone out with my sister yet? I need to give you the whole menacing _what-I'm-going-to-do-to-you-if-you-hurt-my-sister _speech before you do!"

"Rita!" Tira looked abashed.

"I think that's reserved for brothers." Rock inputted.

Rick laughed awkwardly, scratching the back of his head. He stood, bowing slightly.

"I was just on my way out, as a matter of fact," He'd done what he needed to do, and he was _more _than satisfied with the outcome of his actions. "I'll leave you all to your visiting." His eyes caught Tira's for a moment, and he winked at her before making his way to the door.

"Wait!"

Rick stopped, his heart pounding suddenly. He turned around to address Tira, who had called him out.

"Yes?"

"Stay," She insisted.

"I wouldn't want to impose—"

"You wouldn't be imposing!" Rita insisted. "If I could bring _my _boyfriend, I don't see why you can't stay, too."

Tira ignored her sister's remark somehow. Rick could see her biting her tongue and she closed her eyes and took a breath. Her cheeks were red when she opened her eyes again, but the auburn opals Rick stared into were calm.

"Please," She asked. "You've helped me a lot, let me repay it."

Rick considered it. No matter how much he didn't want to hear the "menacing" _what-I'm-going-to-do-to-you-if-you-hurt-my-sister _speech, he _did _want to spend the day with Tira.

Finally, he nodded.

"All right," He conceded. "I'll stay."

"Excellent!" Seeing the expression on Tira's face was more than worth spending the day with her sister. Her eyes lit up brilliantly and Rick found himself wanting to make that appearance rather permanent.

"I'll make dinner for you, too!"

-----

**Okay, so this is really a sequel to "I'll Make Dinner For You", but you don't have to read the first one for it to make sense. I'd appreciate it if you did, because it **_**is **_**in fact PlayerXRock, my third favorite pairing (behind PlayerXJaime and PlayerXRick, of course) and it's on of the more underappreciated pairings. So is this one. I like Rick best out of all of them, but that's probably the geek-lover in me talking.**

**So please leave a review!**

_**Amme Moto**_


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